Opened in late 2011, the MaRS Centre for Impact Investing (the Centre) is designed to increase the awareness and effectiveness of social finance by catalyzing new capital, talent and collaborative initiatives to deliver innovative solutions to Canada’s social and environmental challenges. Now that the Centre has been in operation for three months, we are keen to share with the community our goals and our progress to date.
I am here at a truly global event at fiess2011. At the Palais des Congrès, in Montreal, the room is filled with over 1200 people from across 67 countries. This conference shines a bright light on initiatives driven by local leadership and communities with some anticipation of what will grow out of the ashes of our current world financial crisis.
Join 1200 people from over 70 countries in Montreal , October 17th -20th who are activating the social and solidarity economy across Canada and globally. Fiess2011, the International Forum on the Social and Solidarity Economy, brings together those who collaborate with different levels of government to effect public policy for the benefit of the social economy.
International conferences such as fiess2011 are our opportunity to examine emerging and established models that feed our curiosity and ignite ideas for adaptation in Canada.
SocialFinance.ca produces a weekly round up featuring social finance related news, insights, job openings, and events. We source the content for these round ups from Twitter, an RSS reader, and directly from our community of social finance practitioners. Below is our round up for the week of September 19, 2011. Note: This week, we are delighted to present a Round Up dedicated to Canadian news.
Join 1200 people from over 70 countries in Montreal, October 17th -20th who are activating the social and solidarity economy across Canada and globally. fiess2011, is the International Forum on the Social and Solidarity Economy, that brings together those who collaborate with different levels of government to effect public policy for the benefit of the social economy.
For Canadians, this is a great opportunity to take advantage of the world at our door. You will want to be at fiess2011 if you are part of the non-profit, cooperative, social business or social entrepreneurship sectors, or if you are working towards changing the landscape of public policy towards social well-being and economic growth. fies2011 takes networking to a new level with dedicated spaces and delegate meet-ups.
This is Canada's premier event to connect with the people who are changing how we collectively address complex social and envrionmental issues of our time. Check out the program, workshops and field trips planned throughout the week.
I am looking forward to hearing from this impressive list of international and national guest presenters:
SocialFinance.ca produces a weekly round up featuring social finance related news, insights, job openings, and events. We source the content for these round ups from Twitter, an RSS reader, and directly from our community of social finance practitioners. Below is our round up for the week of July 25, 2011. Note: This week, we are delighted to present a Round Up dedicated to Canadian news.
Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting Noel Kullavanijaya and Brooke Randall from Equilibrium Capital Group (ECG). During their visit to the MaRS Discovery District, Noel and Brooke participated in a breakfast with emerging leaders in the finance and social enterprise sector. The event was co-sponsored by Young Social Entrepreneurs of Canada (YSEC), Toronto for Acumen, SocialFinance.ca and Social Innovation Generation.
ECG presented their business model on how sustainable investing can reach scale with positive social and environmental impact. For ECG, sustainable investing means long-term values that resides in what is important to people – better places to live, and healthier communities. The organization uses financial instruments that release the profits from the values of doing it right. Because “doing it right” drives “doing it profitably.”
SocialFinance.ca produces a weekly round up featuring social finance related news, insights, job openings, and events. We source the content for these round ups from Twitter, an RSS reader, and directly from our community of social finance practitioners. Below is our round up for the week of July 4, 2011.
This blog post is the sixth in a series related to the Canadian Task Force on Social Finance, exploring ideas and research that will help to catalyze a robust social finance marketplace in Canada.
Last fall, The Canadian Task Force on Social Finance released its report called, “Mobilizing Private Capital for Public Good”. The report sets forth a national platform for action, inviting the community, government, foundation and finance sectors to take specific steps to advance a social finance market place in Canada.
This video is part of a series that showcases social finance at work. In these case studies, you can see how impact investors make their decisions and learn more about different models of social finance. Learn more about the difference that social finance is making in communities and for companies that harness it for social good!
In this video, the Canadian Alternative Investment Cooperative's groundbreaking work, stretching back over two decades, is featured.
Welcome to the launch of Your Guide to Social Finance. This is the first resource of its kind in Canada where people like you can get to know how social finance works for communities.
Your Guide is for social entrepreneurs and those interested in social ventures who are considering how social finance can support the opening, operation and expansion of enterprises that have a positive social and/or environmental impact.
This video is part of a series that showcases social finance at work. In these case studies, you can see how impact investors make their decisions and learn more about different models of social finance. Learn more about the difference that social finance is making in communities and for companies that harness it for social good!
The Toronto Atmospheric Fund is a capital corporation endowed by the City of Toronto decades ago to promote climate-friendly initiatives and enterprises. It has been involved in numerous successful ventures to help improve air quality and to reduce the climate footprint and energy costs of our city, including deep lake water cooling, home energy retrofit incentives, conversion of traffic signals to LEDs, energy efficient streetlighting, and solar water heating for pools and buildings. Over time, they've not only held on to their original capital, but also made profits from their impact investments. In this video, the Toronto Atmospheric Fund talks about their model and what has made it succeed.
In the next few weeks, SocialFinance.ca will be launching a new section of our website called Your Guide to Social Finance. This post provides a sneak peek at the content and design of the guide. Thanks to the talent of Bruce Mau Design and the insightful feedback from the SocialFinance.ca community as well as input from team members, Helen Yung, Peter Deitz, Adam Jagelewski, Stacey Corriveau and myself, we have the design and content for the guide ready to go.
We designed Your Guide to Social Finance with multiple speeds in mind. A front page snapshot gives you the quick and dirty on social finance. Jump into overview sections for slightly more detailed responses to the basic questions of:
Each question is accompanied by a deeper dive with written content, videos, links & other resources.
It is easy to see that Canada is favoured by unprecedented wealth. However, we all know that Canadians also face growing social challenges such as homelessness, poverty, rapidly shifting demography and environmental degradation. In this stark contradiction it is clear our current economic models of social investment will not keep pace.
The challenges are obvious. What is more interesting are the opportunities for solutions. I see this happening by investing in social entrepreneurs who take a market approach to addressing such problems.
Since my last update, we have completed the first draft of Financing for Your Future: The Open Guide to Social Finance. When the guide goes live in March, it will give readers the opportunity to:
The initial contents of the guide are already online and open for your comments as we go through a review process -- check out the Google Site for a sneak peek!
Last month, we gave you a map of our thinking for what the Open Guide to Social Finance could include. We are working towards building up this content, sourcing showcase examples of social enterprises, capturing digital stories, and considering how we can illustrate in pictures the social finance environment. Please jump in with your thoughts in any of these areas. We are very interested in sourcing great talent and creative ideas from our community.
This month, we're looking for your input in two areas.
Thank you! We have had a great response from organizations and individuals interested in providing content to the Guide to Social Finance. This is a dynamic process and we invite you to shape the guide’s development as we go along.
As market makers involved in social finance, we know that nothing stays the same and are continuously on the look out for opportunities to report on the changing political and economic landscape.
Several weeks ago, Dionne Chingkoe posted an excellent blog entry, Transforming Social Finance from a Curiosity to a Movement. Dionne's advice on how to catalyze a movement amounted to a clear call to action for the SocialFinance.ca community.
How close is too close? The new UK Conservative government has cut the Office of the Third Sector and is changing how social enterprises in the UK gain access to financing. The Office of the Third Sector was located in the Cabinet Office and had close attention of Labour who created strategies for driving capital and building skills towards social enterprise.
Dear professionals and recent graduates,
Looking for an opportunity to gain experience and develop professional experience overseas? Take advantage of Canadian Crossroad International's (CCI) specialized volunteer opportunities this spring/summer 2010.
CCI is looking for professionals as well as recent graduates to take part in such projects as:
* Business, finance and economic development (Gahna, Togo, Senegal, Mali)
* Youth Entrepreneurship programming (Bolivia)
* Computer and database management (Gahna, Togo, Senegal, Mali)
Deadline is ASAP. See attached postings for position requirements and details.
***Note: most positions require proficiency in Spanish or French
Social Entrepreneurship Summit 2008 Opening Video from Blackpowder Labs on Vimeo.
Last November 2008, SiG@MaRS hosted the Social Enterprise Summit. For 2009 the Social Enterprise Summit will merge with the Third Canadian Conference on Social Enterprise, and will co-host the Policy Forum on November 19th & 20th at MaRS, including bringing a fascinating keynote speaker from the UK - Liam Black of Wavelength.
The motion graphic above asks, what inspires you? It was created by BlackPowder Labs who took responses from a survey on the state of social entrepreneurship in Canada. The survey was conducted prior to the Summit and the results were shown at the opening of the event, to set the tone for the day. It is a great reminder of the energy and anticipation for social entrepreneurship that is building throughout Canada and continues this November 2009 during the Living our Values: Social Enterprise in Action conference.
Join hundreds of existing and prospective social enterprise operators from every region in Canada at the Third Canadian Conference on Social Enterprise taking place in Toronto, November 18th-20th. The conference will consist of three days of training and work sessions toward a national policy agenda and action plan. Hosting the Third Canadian Conference on Social Enterprise is the Social Enterprise Council of Canada.
Day 1: Intensive training sessions geared to the planning, development and growth of your social enterprise
Day2 and 3: Working sessions with fellow practitioners, funders, government officials, network organizers and supporters designed to create a national policy agenda and action plan for social enterprise. You may be eligible for a conference subsidy when you register.
Register NOW for Living Our Values: Social Enterprise in Action
Join hundreds of existing and prospective social enterprise operators from every region in Canada at theThird Canadian Conference on Social Enterprise taking place in Toronto, November 18th-20th.
The conference will consist of three days of training and work sessions toward a national policy agenda and action plan. Register now www.secouncil.ca.
Inner City Development Inc. is a Winnipeg based social enterprise that had a feature story on the National. Great coverage of how a for-profit business can blend a social and financial return. View the video here "Making Canada Proud".
Hoggan & Associates conducted a survey of 4300 Canadians to gather our views on attitudes of sustainability. The survey was conducted in April and May of 2009 and will be available publicly later this year.
The driver question is, what would a sustainable Canadian society look like? The environment ranked high on our list of priorities. However 67% indicated that the economy and the environment need to be addressed simultaneously and we cannot forsake one for the other. For instance, 79% of Canadians believe we need stricter laws to protet the environment.
A surprising $47 billion dollars are invested in wind energy world wide in over 60 countries. Making a significant contribution to energy demand. An exciting element about wind energy is that it can be built to different scales allowing for different types of ownership. With the right types of social finance options, community groups can be stimulated to build locally owned wind development. For example, Municipal Equity Ownership exists in Quebec and First Nations Equity Ownership.
The Carleton Centre for Community Innovation (3ci) and Alterna Savings Credit Union are collaborating on a innovative study that will asses the impact of Alterna's Microloan Program in Toronto and Ottawa.
On April 24th, 3ci Chair, Edward Jackson and Alterna CSR Manager, Susan Henry along with graduate student Michele Tarsilla presented "Evaluating CSR in a Major Credit Union" at the Social Economy Symposium, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto.
Congratulations to Esurio and its publisher, The Ontario Association of Food Banks with proud support from Direct Energy. This morning Esurio launched its first on-line edition of writings on issues of hunger and poverty through a youth lens. It is a collaborative student lead academic journal.
Holly Gordon from The Halifax News Net reports in her article "Investing in Green", the announcement of a second offering of shares and a new community program from Fusion Halifax and the Farmer's Market Investment Cooperative. Shares for the soon to be built Seaport Farmer's Market are selling for $50 each.
This blog was first published on December 31st, 2008 on the PLAN Institute for Caring Citizenship website. Al Etmanski, co-founder of PLAN, has been described as the Jimmy Pattison of the social sector. He is one of the first two Canadians elected to the prestigious Ashoka global fellowship of social entrepreneurs.
New infrastructure spending in response to our economic crisis is expected to produce multiple wins – jumpstarting the economy, providing employment, repairing our aging sewers, roads and bridges and expanding transit services. Another potential big win is possible – ending the scourges of poverty, homelessness, child hunger, loneliness and exclusion.
The voluntary sector in Canada is a key part of Canada’s economic engine. It employs 12% of our active workforce, as many full time workers as all branches of the manufacturing sector combined and has an annual payroll of $22 billion. Its $120 billion in annual expenditures is more than Canada’s retail, mining, oil and gas sectors combined. Studies suggest a high correlation between stimulating spending in the voluntary sector and new jobs.
But it is caught in a double bind. It faces the same challenges as other sectors of our economy - lack of investment in infrastructure and access to capital - while demand for taking care of society’s most vulnerable increases.
The Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship are accepting applications until March 3rd, 2009! This prestigious award is provided to social entrepreneurs from around the world whose work has the potential for large-scale influence on critical challenges of our time. The 3-year award supports the continuation, replication or extension of programs that have proved successful in addressing a broad array of critical social issues.
The following is a guest post by Richard Bridge, Barrister & Solicitor from Nova Scotia, based on his presentation delivered at the Social Finance Forum in Toronto on November 18, 2008.
I have had the good fortune to look at the UK and US hybrid models in some detail through a project initiated by Stacey Corriveau of the Fraser Valley Centre for Social Enterprise with support from Coast Capital Savings Credit Union. This project has involved a group of bright folks experienced with social enterprise in various ways debating the relative merits of the UK and US structural approaches and possible lessons for Canada. It is a lively debate, but no consensus has emerged as to whether something similar would be helpful to social enterprise in Canada.
This week the Global Social Investment Exchange meets in Bellagio, Italy at the Rockerfeller Conference Centre.
It is described as:
"With support of the Rockerfeller Foundation's new initiative "Harnessing the Power of Impact Investing", GreaterGood South Africa's Social Investment Exchange is proud to bring together a small group of thought leaders from finance, philanthropy, policy, research and nonprofit/social enterprise practice for four days of serious, creative and visionary debate around the nature of, and potential for, a Global Social Investment Exchange infrastructure."
he following is the text from a news release on February 3rd, 2009 by the Government of Ontario
Premier Dalton McGuinty says a proposed Green Energy Act would help lead to more than 50,000 new jobs over the next three years. The Green Energy Act, to be introduced in the Ontario legislature later this month, would establish Ontario as a leader in North America in building renewable energy, encouraging energy conservation and creating green jobs.
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Your Guide helps social entrepreneurs learn how to attract financing for their social ventures.
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Your Guide to Social Finance
SocialFinance.ca hosts an online guide that helps social entrepreneurs learn how to attract financing for their social ventures.
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